[7] After this, shall I, who have not spared my own sons, spare you, Collatinus, who are with us indeed in person, but with our enemies in spirit, and are trying to save those who have betrayed their country and to kill me who am fighting in its defence? Far from it! On the contrary, to prevent you from doing anything of the kind in future, I now deprive you of your magistracy and command you to retire to some other city. And as for you, citizens, I shall assemble you at once by your centuries and take your votes, in order that you may decide whether this action of mine should be ratified. Be assured, however, that you will have only one of us two for your consul, either Collatinus or Brutus.”
[1] τοιαῦτα δὲ λέγοντος αὐτοῦ βοῶν καὶ δεινοπαθῶν ὁ Κολλατῖνος ἐπίβουλόν τε καὶ προδότην τῶν φίλων αὐτὸν παρ᾽ ἕκαστα ἀποκαλῶν καὶ τὰ μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν καθ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ διαβολῶν ἀπολογούμενος, τὰ δ᾽ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφιδῶν δεόμενος ψῆφόν τε καθ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ [p. 155] τοῖς πολίταις οὐκ ἐῶν ἀναδοῦναι χαλεπώτερον ἐποίει τὸν δῆμον καὶ δεινοὺς ἤγειρεν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς λεγομένοις θορύβους.
[11] While Brutus was thus speaking, Collatinus kept crying out and loudly protesting and at every word calling him a plotter and a betrayer of his friends, and now by endeavouring to clear himself of the accusations against him, and now by pleading for his nephews, and by refusing to allow the matter to be put to the vote of the citizens, he made the people still angrier and caused a terrible uproar at everything he said.
[2] ἠγριωμένων δὲ τῶν πολιτῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ οὔτ᾽ ἀπολογίαν ὑπομενόντων οὔτε δέησιν προσιεμένων, ἀλλὰ τὰς ψήφους ἀναδοθῆναι σφίσι κελευσάντων, δἰ εὐλαβείας τὸ πρᾶγμα ὁ κηδεστὴς αὐτοῦ λαβὼν Σπόριος Λουκρήτιος, ἀνὴρ τῷ δήμῳ τίμιος, μὴ μεθ᾽ ὕβρεως τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἐκπέσῃ, λόγον αἰτησάμενος παρ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων καὶ τυχὼν τῆς ἐξουσίας ταύτης πρῶτος, ὥς φασιν οἱ Ῥωμαίων συγγραφεῖς, οὔπω τότε Ῥωμαίοις ὄντος ἐν ἔθει δημηγορεῖν ἰδιώτην ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ, κοινὴν ἐποιήσατο δέησιν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων, Κολλατίνῳ μὲν παραινῶν μὴ θυμομαχεῖν μηδ᾽ ἀκόντων κατέχειν τῶν πολιτῶν τὴν ἀρχήν, ἣν παρ᾽ ἑκόντων ἔλαβεν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ δοκεῖ τοῖς δοῦσιν αὐτὴν ἀπολαβεῖν ἑκόντα καταθέσθαι καὶ μὴ τοῖς λόγοις ἀπολύεσθαι τὰς καθ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ διαβολάς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς πράγμασι, μεταθέσθαι τε τὴν οἴκησιν ἑτέρωσέ ποί ποτε πάντα τὰ ἑαυτοῦ λαβόντα, ἕως ἂν ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ γένηται τὰ κοινά, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο δοκεῖ τῷ δήμῳ συμφέρειν, ἐνθυμούμενον, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἀδικήμασι γενομένοις ὀργίζεσθαι πεφύκασιν ἅπαντες, προδοσίᾳ δὲ καὶ ὑποπτευομένῃ, σωφρονέστερον ἡγούμενοι καὶ διὰ κενῆς φοβηθέντες αὐτὴν φυλάξασθαι μᾶλλον ἢ [p. 156]
[2] The citizens being now exasperated against him and refusing either to hear his defence or to listen to his entreaties, but calling for their votes to be taken, Spurius Lucretius, his father-in-law, a man esteemed by the people, feeling concern about the situation, lest Collatinus should be ignominiously driven from office and from his country, asked and obtained from both consuls leave to speak. He was the first person who ever obtained this privilege, as the Roman historians relate, since it was not yet customary at that time for a private citizen to speak in an assembly of the people. And addressing his entreaties to both consuls jointly, he advised Collatinus not to persist so obstinately in his opposition nor to retain against the will of the citizens the magistracy which he had received by their consent, but if those who had given it thought fit to take back the magistracy, to lay it down voluntarily, and to attempt to clear himself of the accusations against him, not by his words, but by his actions, and to remove with all his goods to some other region till the commonwealth should be in a state of security, since the good of the people seemed to require this. For he should bear in mind that, whereas in the case of other crimes all men are wont to show their resentment after the deed has been committed, in the case of treason they do so even when it is only suspected, regarding it as more prudent, though their fears may be vain, to guard against the treason than, by giving way to contempt, to be undone.
[3] καταφρονήσει ἐπιτρέψαντες ἀνατραπῆναι: Βροῦτον δὲ πείθων μὴ μετ᾽ αἰσχύνης καὶ προπηλακισμοῦ τὸν συνάρχοντα τῆς πατρίδος ἐκβαλεῖν, μεθ᾽ οὗ τὰ κράτιστα ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ἐβούλευσεν: ἀλλ᾽ ἐὰν αὐτὸς ὑπομένῃ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀποθέσθαι καὶ παραχωρῇ τῆς πατρίδος ἑκών, τήν τ᾽ οὐσίαν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν ἐπιτρέψαι κατὰ σχολὴν ἀνασκευάσασθαι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου προσθεῖναί τινα δωρεάν, ἵνα παραμύθιον ἔχῃ τῆς συμφορᾶς τὴν παρὰ τοῦ δήμου χάριν.
[3] As for Brutus, he endeavoured to persuade him not to expel from his country with shame and vituperation his colleague with whom he had concerted the best measures for the commonwealth, but if Collatinus himself was willing to resign the magistracy and leave the country voluntarily, not only to give him leave to get together all his substance at his leisure, but also to add some gift from the public treasury, to the end that this favour conferred upon him by the people might be a comfort to him in his affliction.
[1] ταῦτα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀμφοτέροις παραινοῦντος καὶ τῶν πολιτῶν ἐπαινεσάντων τὸν λόγον, ὁ μὲν Κολλατῖνος πολλὰ κατολοφυρόμενος ἑαυτόν, εἰ διὰ συγγενῶν ἔλεον ἐκλιπεῖν ἀναγκασθήσεται τὴν πατρίδα μηδὲν ἀδικῶν, ἀποτίθεται τὴν ἀρχήν.
[12.1] When Lucretius thus advised both consuls and the citizens had voiced their approval, Collatinus, uttering many lamentations over his misfortune in being obliged, because of the compassion he had shown to his kinsmen, to leave his country, though he was guilty of no crime, resigned his magistracy.
[2] ὁ δὲ Βροῦτος ἐπαινέσας αὐτὸν ὡς τὰ κράτιστα καὶ συμφορώτατα ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ τῇ πόλει βεβουλευμένον παρεκάλει μήτ᾽ αὐτῷ μήτε τῇ πατρίδι μνησικακεῖν: ἑτέραν δὲ μεταλαβόντα οἴκησιν τὴν καταλειπομένην πατρίδα ἡγεῖσθαι, μηδενὸς μήτ᾽ ἔργου μήτε λόγου κοινωνοῦντα τοῖς ἐχθροῖς κατ᾽ αὐτῆς: τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον ἀποδημίαν ὑπολαβόντα τὴν μετανάστασιν, οὐκ ἐξορισμὸν οὐδὲ φυγήν, τὸ μὲν σῶμα παρὰ τοῖς ὑποδεξαμένοις ἔχειν, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν παρὰ τοῖς προπέμπουσι. ταῦτα δ᾽ ὑποθέμενος τῷ ἀνδρὶ πείθει τὸν δῆμον εἴκοσι ταλάντων δοῦναι αὐτῷ δωρεὰν [p. 157] καὶ αὐτὸς πέντε τάλαντα προστίθησιν ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων.
[2] Brutus, praising him for having taken the best and
the most advantageous resolution for both himself and the commonwealth, exhorted him not to entertain any resentment either against him or against his country, but after he had taken up his residence elsewhere, to regard as his country the home he was now leaving, and never to join with her enemies in any action or speech directed against her; in fine, to consider his change of residence as a sojourn abroad, not as an expulsion or a banishment, and while living in body with those who had received him, to dwell in spirit with those who now sent him on his way. After this exhortation to Collatinus he prevailed upon the people to make him a present of twenty talents, and he himself added five more from his own means.
[3] Ταρκύνιος μὲν δὴ Κολλατῖνος τοιαύτῃ τύχῃ περιπεσὼν εἰς Λαουίνιον ᾤχετο τὴν μητρόπολιν τοῦ Λατίνων γένους, ἐν ᾗ γηραιὸς ἐτελεύτα: ὁ δὲ Βροῦτος οὐκ ἀξιῶν μόνος ἄρχειν οὐδ᾽ εἰς ὑπόνοιαν ἐλθεῖν τοῖς πολίταις, ὅτι μοναρχίας ὑπαχθεὶς πόθῳ τὸν συνύπατον ἐξήλασεν ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος, καλέσας τὸν δῆμον εἰς τὸ πεδίον, ἔνθα σύνηθες αὐτοῖς ἦν τούς τε βασιλεῖς καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχὰς καθιστάναι, συνάρχοντα αἱρεῖται Πόπλιον Οὐαλέριον, ἀπόγονον, ὡς καὶ πρότερον εἶπον, τοῦ Σαβίνου Οὐαλερίου, ἄνδρα πολλῶν μὲν καὶ ἄλλων ἐπιτηδευμάτων χάριν ἐπαινεῖσθαί τε καὶ θαυμάζεσθαι ἄξιον, μάλιστα δὲ τῆς αὐταρκείας τοῦ βίου. φιλοσοφία γάρ τις αὐτοδίδακτος ἐγένετο περὶ αὐτόν, ἣν ἐν πολλοῖς ἀπεδείξατο πράγμασιν, ὑπὲρ ὧν ὀλίγον ὕστερον ἐρῶ.
[3] So Tarquinius Collatinus, having met with this fate, retired to Lavinium, the mother-city of the Latin nation, where he died at an advanced age. And Brutus, thinking that he ought not to continue alone in the magistracy or to give occasion to the citizens to suspect that it was because of a desire to rule alone that he had banished his colleague from the country, summoned the people to the field where it was their custom to elect their kings and other magistrates, and chose for his colleague Publius Valerius, a descendant, as I have stated earlier, of the Sabine Valerius, a man worthy of both praise and admiration for many other qualities, but particularly for his frugal manner of life. For there was a kind of self-taught philosophy about him, which he displayed upon many occasions, of which I shall speak a little later.
[1] μετὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἤδη μιᾷ γνώμῃ περὶ πάντων χρώμενοι τοὺς μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ καθόδῳ τῶν φυγάδων συνομοσαμένους ἅπαντας ἀπέκτειναν παραχρῆμα, καὶ τὸν μηνύσαντα τὴν συνωμοσίαν δοῦλον ἐλευθερίᾳ τε καὶ πολιτείας μεταδόσει καὶ χρήμασι πολλοῖς ἐτίμησαν. ἔπειτα τρία πολιτεύματα κάλλιστα καὶ συμφορώτατα τῷ κοινῷ καταστησάμενοι τούς τ᾽ ἐν τῇ πόλει πάντας ὁμονοεῖν παρεσκεύασαν καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἑταιρίας ἐμείωσαν.
[13.1] After this Brutus and his colleague, acting in everything with a single mind, immediately put to death all who had conspired to restore the exiles, and also honoured the slave who had given information of the conspiracy, not only with his freedom, but also by the bestowal of citizenship and a large sum of money. Then they introduced three measures, all most excellent and advantageous to the state, by which they brought about harmony among all the citizens and weakened the factions of their enemies.
[2] ἦν δὲ τὰ πολιτεύματα τῶν ἀνδρῶν τοιάδε: πρῶτον μὲν ἐκ τῶν δημοτικῶν τοὺς κρατίστους ἐπιλέξαντες [p. 158] πατρικίους ἐποίησαν καὶ συνεπλήρωσαν ἐξ αὐτῶν τὴν βουλὴν τοὺς τριακοσίους: ἔπειτα τὰς οὐσίας τῶν τυράννων εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἅπασι τοῖς πολίταις φέροντες ἔθεσαν, συγχωρήσαντες ὅσον λάβοι τις ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔχειν: καὶ τὴν αὐτῶν γῆν ὅσην ἐκέκτηντο τοῖς μηδένα κλῆρον ἔχουσι διένειμαν, ἓν μόνον ἐξελόμενοι πεδίον, ὃ κεῖται μεταξὺ τῆς τε πόλεως καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ. τοῦτο δ᾽ Ἄρεος ὑπάρχειν ἱερὸν οἱ πρότερον ἐψηφίσαντο ἵπποις τε λειμῶνα καὶ νέοις ἀσκοῦσι τὰς ἐνοπλίους μελέτας γυμνάσιον ἐπιτηδειότατον: ὅτι δὲ καὶ πρότερον ἱερὸν ἦν τοῦδε τοῦ θεοῦ, Ταρκύνιος δὲ σφετερισάμενος ἔσπειρεν αὐτὸ μέγιστον ἡγοῦμαι τεκμήριον εἶναι τὸ πραχθὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπάτων τότε περὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ καρπούς.
[2] Their measures were as follows: In the first place, choosing the best men from among the plebeians, they made them patricians, and thus rounded out the membership of the senate to three hundred. Next, they brought out and exposed in public the goods of the tyrants for the benefit of all the citizens, permitting everyone to have as large a portion of them as he could seize; and the lands the tyrants had possessed they divided among those who had no allotments, reserving only one field, which lies between the city and the river. This field their ancestors had by a public decree consecrated to Mars as a meadow for horses and the most suitable drill-field for the youth to perform their exercises in arms. The strongest proof, I think, that even before this the field had been consecrated to this god, but that Tarquinius had appropriated it to his own use and sown it, was the action then taken by the consuls in regard to the corn there.
[3] ἅπαντα γὰρ ἐπιτρέψαντες τῷ δήμῳ τὰ τῶν τυράννων ἄγειν τε καὶ φέρειν, τὸν ἐν τούτῳ γενόμενον τῷ πεδίῳ σῖτον τὸν μὲν ἐπὶ ταῖς καλάμαις, τὸν δ᾽ ἐπὶ ταῖς ἔτι ἅλωσιν κείμενον καὶ τὸν ἤδη κατειργασμένον οὐκ ἐπέτρεψαν οὐδενὶ φέρειν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐξάγιστόν τε καὶ οὐχ ὡς ἐπιτήδειον εἰς οἰκίας εἰσενεχθῆναι, εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν καταβαλεῖν ἐψηφίσαντο.
[3] For though they had given leave to the people to drive and carry away everything that belonged to the tyrants, they would not permit anyone to carry away the grain which had grown in this field and was still lying upon the threshing-floors whether in the straw or threshed, but looking upon it as accursed and quite unfit to be carried into their houses, they caused a vote to be passed that it should be thrown into the river.
[4] καὶ ἔστι νῦν μνημεῖον ἐμφανὲς τοῦ ποτε ἔργου νῆσος εὐμεγέθης Ἀσκληπιοῦ ἱερά, περίκλυστος ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, [p. 159] ἥν φασιν ἐκ τοῦ σωροῦ τῆς καλάμης σαπείσης καὶ ἔτι καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ προσλιπαίνοντος αὐτῇ ἰλὺν γενέσθαι. καὶ τοῖς μετὰ τοῦ τυράννου πεφευγόσι Ῥωμαίων κάθοδον εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐπ᾽ ἀδείᾳ τε καὶ ἀμνηστίᾳ παντὸς ἁμαρτήματος ἔδωκαν χρόνον ὁρίσαντες ἡμερῶν εἴκοσιν: εἰ δὲ μὴ κατέλθοιεν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ προθεσμίᾳ, τιμωρίας αὐτοῖς ὥρισαν ἀιδίους φυγὰς καὶ
[4] And there is even now a conspicuous monument of what happened on that occasion, in the form of an island of goodly size consecrated to Aescul
apius and washed on all sides by the river, an island which was formed, they say, out of the heap of rotten straw and was further enlarged by the silt which the river kept adding. The consuls also granted to all the Romans who had fled with the tyrant leave to return to the city with impunity and under a general amnesty, setting a time-limit of twenty days; and if they did not return within this fixed time, the penalties set in their case were perpetual banishment and the confiscation of their estates.
[5] κτημάτων ὧν ἐκέκτηντο δημεύσεις. ταῦτα τῶν ἀνδρῶν τὰ πολιτεύματα τοὺς μὲν ἀπολαύσαντας ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τῶν τυράννων ὅτου δή τινος ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ ἀφαιρεθῆναι πάλιν ἃς ἔσχον ὠφελείας ἅπαντα κίνδυνον ἐποίησεν ὑπομένειν: τοὺς δὲ κατὰ δέος ὧν παρηνόμησαν ἐπὶ τῆς τυραννίδος μὴ δίκην ἀναγκασθεῖεν ὑπέχειν φυγῆς ἑαυτοῖς τιμησαμένους, ἀπαλλαγέντας τοῦ φόβου μηκέτι τὰ τῶν τυράννων, ἀλλὰ τὰ τῆς πόλεως φρονεῖν.
[5] These measures of the consuls caused those who had enjoyed any part whatever of the possessions belonging to the tyrants to submit to any danger rather than be deprived again of the advantages they had obtained; and, on the other hand, by freeing from their fear those who, through dread of having to stand trial for the crimes they had committed under the tyranny, had condemned themselves to banishment, they caused them to favour the side of the commonwealth rather than that of the tyrants.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 528